


Ghost of a Chance

by ClagJanetSMK



Series: A Pandemic Alphabet [7]
Category: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Genre: 2020 Lockdown Stories, Friendship, G is for Geisterschloss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27806035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClagJanetSMK/pseuds/ClagJanetSMK
Summary: Amanda has come to Salzburg to help Lee hunt for a missing Emily. Lee has thoughts on the matter.
Relationships: Amanda King & Lee Stetson
Series: A Pandemic Alphabet [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031118
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Lee stared down at the sketch book in his lap, his eyes tracing over the pictures again and again, trying to find what message Emily might have hidden in them. When Amanda had grabbed his arm earlier, eyes alight with excitement, it had really seemed like she was onto something, but he'd been studying them for hours now trying to find anything and had come up short. He'd checked for microdots, he'd held them up to the light, he'd even run a match under one page to see if there was heat-activated ink, but everything had been a dead end.

He fell back in the hotel armchair and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He'd been keeping himself in check all day, acting professional in front of Amanda, allowing her to see just the usual amount of need-to-know information and no more, just like an ordinary case, but this wasn't an ordinary case, it was Emily and Emily was family.

The corners of his mouth quirked up as he considered that and how easily Emily had assigned Amanda to be her 'niece'. That was another little bit of spy stuff that he'd never explained to his partner... to Amanda. Even in his own head, he couldn't help correcting himself when he called her his partner, but Emily appeared to have none of those qualms. Somehow she'd known she might be walking into danger and had left enough information for him to bring Amanda here as help. But why Amanda? And if she'd had enough time and forethought to set that up, why not just leave information that he could have seen on his own?

His gut twisted at the thought. Emily had known there was a good chance that she was being watched and had to have hidden any clues in such a way that only Amanda could interpret them. Which meant, he thought wryly, it must be a really off-the-wall way because heaven knew off-the-wall was definitely what Amanda brought to the equation.

His mind wandered back to this past summer when Emily had blown into town, still the motherly woman he adored but hiding nerves of steel and a brain that would astonish most people who met her. Lee had watched her face down and outsmart some of the best in the business and he'd learned early not to underestimate her, but to Amanda, she was just that nice lady - which, of course, was also true.

" _Come on in, Scarecrow, I thought you'd like to see my guest this morning."_

_Lee had just knocked on Billy's door and stuck his head in, in response to the summons on his desk and seeing the beaming smile on Billy's face, he'd opened the door further to find Emily smiling at him as well._

" _Emily!" He was barely in the room and moving towards her before she had jumped to her feet and enveloped him in a warm embrace._

" _Lee, Dear! Oh it's so lovely to see your handsome face!" She stepped back and patted his cheek. "I wasn't sure I'd see you what with Billy keeping you so busy!"_

" _Well, I'm never too busy for you!" Lee exclaimed. "How long are you here for?"_

" _Just a few days. I had some meetings over at Langley to discuss some of our inter-agency cooperation protocols."_

_Lee grinned. In other words, Emily had been sent by MI5 to rake some poor CIA idiots over the coals for something they'd done - or more likely, not done._

" _But that's all taken care of, and a day early" Emily was continuing, "and I thought I'd take advantage of my extra time here to see some of the sights. You know I've been to Washington so often and it's so rare that I get to see anything outside of the Embassy or meetings rooms."_

_Lee's face fell - he was actually up to his neck testifying in court all day. "Darn, I know I just said I'm never too busy but…" he began._

" _Don't worry, Scarecrow," grinned Billy. "I've set Lady Farnsworth up with a guide already -she'll be fine until you're done with the Matthews case."_

_There was a tap at the door at that exact moment, and Lee knew without turning around who Billy had selected, and he had to admit - it was a good choice._

" _You wanted to see me, Sir?" said Amanda. She was looking a little bit apprehensive - she still assumed being called into Billy's office meant she'd done something wrong - but when she saw Lee, her face softened and her normal bright smile appeared. "Oh hi, Lee. Am I helping you out today?"_

" _Mrs. King, please come in." Billy waved for her to come in. "No, it's not Lee you'll be helping out today, it's me. I'd like to introduce you to Emily Farnsworth, one of our liaisons with the British government. Emily, this is Amanda King, the newest and most promising of our recruits that I was telling you about. Amanda, I'd like you to look after Mrs. Farnsworth for a day or two - she'd like to see the sights of Washington and I know you'll take the best of care with her. Nothing but the best for you, Emily."_

_As Amanda blushed, Lee could see Emily giving her a long assessing look and suddenly felt the need to champion her. "Amanda will be a great guide, Emily, she's a very safe driver." He couldn't help smiling encouragingly at Amanda after that comment, and then realized that Emily's sharp gaze had expanded to include him. "Very safe and she knows this city like the back of her hand."_

" _Well with such a pair of ringing endorsements, I'm sure we'll have a lovely time," said Emily, with a broad smile._

" _I'm sure we will," agreed Amanda, ducking her head with her own shy smile. If she was disappointed to be spending her day being a tour guide instead of a spy, you'd never be able to tell from her expression. "What kind of places would you like to see, Mrs. Farnsworth?"_

" _Oh my dear, none of that - you must call me Emily," said Emily, tucking her hand around Amanda's arm and leading her from Billy's office. "I'd love to see simply everything - as long as you also tell me simply everything about how you came to work here." As they left the office, the wink she gave Lee over her shoulder sent all the hair on his neck rising._

" _What did you tell her?" he asked Billy in an ominous tone._

_Billy's chuckle didn't comfort him. "I didn't tell her anything, Scarecrow," he answered, spreading his hands. "But you know Emily - she's got a nose for a story!"_

_Lee sagged where he stood. "Oh God."_

_In fact, he needn't have worried, or at least not as much as he had. He managed to get free of the court case in time to have dinner with Emily before she headed back to England and it had been obvious she was as charmed by Amanda as… well, everyone, he supposed._

" _Lee, she's just lovely!" Emily had exclaimed when he'd asked how the tourist activities had gone._

" _Washington?" he'd responded in confusion._

_Emily had made an exasperated noise and slapped his hand lightly where it rested on the table. "Amanda!"_

" _Oh, her." He'd had no better answer. "Um, yes, she's very nice."_

"" _Very nice" Emily mimicked him. "She's a treasure! Do you know, no matter how I went about it, she absolutely would not give me even the tiniest detail about how she came to work at the Agency or what she does there? I mean, she's willing to tell you anything you want to know about herself or her boys - who are delightful too, by the way - but any other topic and she just slid out of answering like a professional."_

" _Yeah, well, she's had a lot of practice lying to her mother," he said with a wry smile._

" _Oh yes, I can just imagine! Dotty is a terrier," laughed Emily knowingly. "I had dinner at their house last night and I was definitely on my toes with her interrogation."_

" _What did you tell her?" Lee asked, feeling a slight pang that Emily had gotten to have dinner with a family he would probably never meet._

" _Oh the usual," Emily answered, digging her fork into her salad. "That I was a researcher for the BBC documentary section and that Amanda had been delegated to help me as the most junior employee at IFF. I made myself sound as dull as possible, but Dotty still wanted to know everything."_

_Lee grinned. "Dotty would have had a heart attack if she'd known you were_ _**Lady** _ _Farnsworth. You should have seen her when Amanda introduced her to Princess…" He stopped suddenly as Emily's face lit up with a knowing smile and she pointed at him with her fork._

" _I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Now, Lee dear, since I couldn't get anything out of your partner, you simply must tell me how you ended up working with her!"_

" _She's not my partner!" he shot back instantly. Off Emily's arched brow of disbelief, he amended it weakly. "She's just a civilian who's helped out with a few things."_

" _When I asked Billy, he said you'd recruited her and I'd have to ask you for the story," she answered. She leaned in, and dropped the British accent. "Now spill, Scarecrow."_

_He had, of course, and since it was Emily, he'd even made himself look as foolish as possible in most of the stories, just to make her laugh._

_And how she'd laughed - at every instance of Amanda poking a hole in his self-importance and every story of how her way of looking at things had saved the day._

" _She's a perfect partner for you," she'd declared wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. "I know you know that, deep down."_

" _Emily!" he'd remonstrated with her. "You know I won't work with a partner again and I certainly won't be responsible for a mother of two young boys who need her! She shouldn't be in this business at all!"_

_Emily's expression turned serious. "I think it's a bit late for that, Lee. She's in the business now already and if she is, would you want anyone else looking after her?"_

_Lee blanched at the image of Amanda out in the field with someone like Fred Fielder._

_Emily didn't wait for an answer, just patted his hand and said "I thought not. And she looks after you too, you know. The closest she got to impolite was when I asked questions about you, but from what she did say, it's obvious she admires you very much. And don't forget - I ended up in this business in a very similar fashion. And now," she went on, obviously letting him off the hook, "What shall we have for dessert?"_

Yes, Emily had seen an echo of her own history in Amanda, he thought, but she was no one's fool and if she had specifically requested Amanda, it was because she knew Amanda would figure out the message she'd hidden… somewhere.

He sighed and stared at the picture of the fountain again. "Three figures on the fountain? Three horses on the fountain? Why so many fountains? And this one on the lake? Could that be a clue?" He went back and forth through the sketch book, but there were just as many pictures without water as there were ones with it and he tossed the book onto the coffee table with a growl of frustration.

A soft noise reminded him he wasn't alone. Amanda had brought Emily's bag into his room to look through it for other clues; she hadn't wanted him going through Emily's private things, but had agreed that she could do it in front of him in case something caught his eye that she'd missed. She'd worked away quietly as he studied the sketches, but jet lag had finally begun to work its magic and at some point, he'd glanced up and realized that Amanda had tumbled over sideways on the bed and was fast asleep. He'd flipped the comforter over her and she'd snuggled deeper into sleep with a sigh.

Looking at her now, he had to smile - not that many months ago, she'd been horrified at the idea that they were sharing a room and now she was relaxed enough - or maybe just exhausted enough - to not care anymore that she had commandeered his bed.

On the other hand, he was pretty sure she'd be appalled to find herself waking up there in the morning and he was starting to feel the need for sleep himself, so he got up and stretched, then crouched down beside the bed.

"Hey, Goldilocks," he teased, shaking her shoulder gently. "Time to go find a bed that's just right for you."

For a moment, she'd burrowed a bit deeper under the cover, but he'd shaken her again. "Amanda. Wake up."

Her eyes had fluttered open and for once, she didn't even look shocked to see him there. "Oh I'm sorry," she apologized with a yawn. "I don't know how that happened. I knew I was feeling woozy, but I didn't think I was that sleepy!" Her eye fell on the sketch book. "Oh! Did you figure anything out?"

"Not yet," he said, straightening up and offering her a hand to get up as well. "I'll keep looking, but you need to go get some real sleep. This change in time zones will really mess with you."

"I remember that from my last few trips," she yawned again. "That and the way the boys were in Munich, always hungry in the middle of the night because their stomachs didn't know we were on a different continent."

Lee's lips quirked up in a grin. "Funny you should mention that," he said, gesturing to a room service tray. "I got us some sandwiches. It's not just little boys that have that problem."

Amanda's eyes lit up and she reached to grab one. As she ate, Lee picked up the sketch book again and propped it on the desk, then stood back to survey it, then shook his head. "What am I not seeing? And what if we're not looking in the right place?"

"We'll figure it out, Lee," Amanda said quietly. "And I'm sure it's something simple that we're missing. I mean, Emily wouldn't have wanted me to come if it was going to be some big super secret spy thing, right? So it must be something so easy even someone like me can see it, right?"

"There's no one in the world who is someone like you, Amanda," he quipped. He realized his voice must have sounded a bit rougher than he'd intended when her face fell. "No, come on, I didn't mean it like that. Emily would have asked for you because she thought you could help. And you're right - if she did, I'm probably thinking about this too much like an agent and not a regular person. So tell you what - you head to your room and get some proper sleep and I'll do the same, and we'll start fresh in the morning, okay?"

Amanda carefully brushed the crumbs from her sandwich from her hands over the tray. "Alright," she said. "If you're sure…"

"I'm sure," he said. He held out a hand to help off the edge of the bed where she was still perched.

He walked her to her door and had her wait for a moment while he checked inside. He stepped back and gestured for her to go in. "Sleep well."

"You too." She turned back in the doorway. "It'll be okay, Lee. I just know it. Emily knows it too - that's why she asked you for help - because she believes in you."

"Thank you." Lee paused for long enough that Amanda stepped back, preparing to shut the door. "Amanda? That means she believes in you too and I'm... well, I'm glad you're here."

"Thank you, Lee." Amanda reached up and straightened his shirt collar. Lee allowed himself a smile when he realized it was because he wasn't wearing a tie. "You go get some sleep too. You won't be any use to her if you're too tired to think straight."

"You're probably right. Good night, Amanda."

"Good night, Lee."

He waited to hear her slide the deadbolt home on her door before turning back to his own door. He was feeling better now. Maybe they hadn't figured out yet, but Amanda was right, Emily had faith that they would. And Amanda's faith in him was always a balm in the rough times.

" _She looks after you too,"_ said Emily's voice in his head. He stopped, with his hand on the doorknob of his room, and glanced down the hall to Amanda's. He really was glad she was here.


	2. Chapter 2

_A few days later_

Lee leaned back in his chair, enjoying the view out his hotel window. It didn't have a balcony, but the tall windows had one of those typically European wrought-iron barriers across it, so after opening the doors wide, he had dragged the armchair over and was now sitting back, a glass of scotch in his hand and his feet propped up on the railing. It was a beautiful evening and he could hear the sounds of music from a distant biergarten. There'd been a time, not so long ago that he would have been celebrating a case with an evening spent there, but tonight, he just wasn't in the mood. Not that he was in a bad mood, quite the opposite; in fact, he was so content that he couldn't imagine doing anything but simply enjoying the warm breeze, this fine scotch and the pleasure of knowing that Emily was safe and sound.

The music from the biergarten shifted to a familiar polka, and Lee couldn't help grinning as he recalled Amanda's clumsy attempt to oom-pah-pah with the best of them in Munich just a few weeks previously. He made a mental note to tell Emily about it at breakfast - she'd enjoy that one, and it would be another chance to tell a story where Amanda's intuition had worked its magic.

Of course, it was quite possible Amanda would tell her the story herself now that they'd gone off together. Emily, indefatigable as ever, had insisted that it was her turn to play tour guide and, after their schnapps-soaked lunch, had taken Amanda off promising her a Sound of Music- themed tour of Salzburg. That had made Amanda's face light up, then fall when she realized Lee wasn't going to join them.

" _Just go," he said, shooing them off. "I have to wrap up some paperwork and call Billy to arrange our trip home. You go have a good time."_

" _Are you sure?" she asked, uncertainly. "Maybe I could help you with that first and then you could come too."_

" _Amanda," he bent a skeptical smile at her. "Do I seem like a person who'd want to go on a Sound of Music tour?"_

" _I guess not," she admitted. "But we'll see you later?"_

" _Of course," he promised. "You two go have fun. And just think, now you can tell your mother you really went location hunting."_

_Amanda gave one of her little embarrassed shrugs. "Well, sure, but for a movie that's already been made!"_

" _Well, you don't have to tell your mother that part," he grinned._

" _You know, lying by omission is still lying," she admonished him, but a small smile started to curl up the corners of her mouth._

" _Would she want you to go have a nice time and see all the sights of Salzburg?_

" _Yes."_

" _And will she be just as excited as you are to see any pictures you take?"_

_Amanda nodded._

" _Well then, a tiny white lie about why you were here isn't going to do any harm, is it?"_

" _No," she sighed._

" _So?"_

" _Fine, I'm going, I'm going!" Finally convinced, she had gone off with only one look over her shoulder._

His head was buzzing a little now. An afternoon of schnapps with Emily in the sun and now a glass - he squinted and considered that - okay, maybe two - of whiskey was perhaps a little more than he should have had.

He drained his glass - no sense in wasting it - and put the glass down firmly. Then, realizing he had put it down on top of the protective cover on Emily's souvenir sketch of him and Amanda, he quickly lifted it again, moved the folder and put it down.

He flipped it open and surveyed it, still trying to find all the letters hidden in it. Emily had sat back and enjoyed watching the two of them squabble over it, but while they had eventually found all the letters in their names, he was fairly certain there were other messages buried in it.

His eye was drawn irresistibly to Amanda's face. Emily had done an amazing job in just a few pencil lines at catching the impishness of her smile and the glint of humor in her eyes. He'd forgotten over the years that Emily had often had a pencil in her hand, ready to sketch out maps or pictures of suspects. She'd often done caricatures for fun when they were on the road and he kicked himself now that he had never thought to keep any of those, but he'd be keeping this one. For one thing, Amanda had asked him to, since she couldn't keep it at her house, or at least she couldn't display it. She hadn't asked if he was going to display it or just tuck it away, but she had studied it for a long time before handing it over.

" _There's no other pictures of us together," she said. "I mean, I know why there isn't and it's not like I could keep one around where Mother could see it, but it's kind of weird, you know? We spend all this time together and nobody knows…" Her voice trailed off, but her gaze was still on the picture. Finally. she shrugged. "Price of being a spy, I guess," she said with a sad smile, handing it to him. "Being invisible."_

It was the memory of the resignation behind that smile that struck him now - all the early gloss of spy work was long gone for Amanda. He could recall how enthusiastic she'd been in the early days - showing up in trenchcoats and thinking they needed to meet up in secret places, like in the movies. To be fair, he hadn't been much different when he'd joined up, even with his intelligence work in Vietnam behind him. Army Intelligence, along with being an oxymoron, had been straightforward information gathering - troop movements, that sort of thing. When Harry had invited him into the world of Cold War spies, it had been like being in a movie, and he'd been as wide-eyed and puppy-like as any raw recruit.

Being paired with Emily on that first mission, had been a godsend, he realized now. She'd reined in the worst of his impulsiveness without ever making him feel foolish or young. She was the same with Amanda - encouraging by compliments and redirecting when enthusiasm overtook sense. He gave a little mental wince at the way he'd treated Amanda in the early days with his sarcasm and constantly pushing her away. Emily had taught him better than that, and the way she was taking Amanda under her wing told him she saw real potential in her. Emily was a very kind woman but she was also completely no nonsense about this business and she wouldn't have dragged Amanda all the way over here if she didn't think she was cut out for it, even if she did like her. He just didn't understand why Emily was so intent on pushing Amanda on him as a partner - why on earth did she think they'd work well together? Sure, they'd had some successes, but Amanda was such a country mouse compared to him, those must have just been luck, right. Unbidden, images began to bubble up in his brain of Amanda in evening gowns, charming the socks off of princesses and verbally slapping down bitchy Hungarian defectors. _Okay, so maybe not a country mouse, but still, so unworldly._

He studied the picture again. Yes, that naive excitement of Amanda's was long gone and yet… He shuddered remembering finding Marianna yesterday morning and how white-faced Amanda had looked - but then she had pulled herself together as she had so many times before and been beside him all the way until they had found Emily. She had hidden strengths, no doubt about that but they were inextricably twinned with a sense of optimism and warm heartedness that should have been a handicap but somehow wasn't. She was a mix of flights of fancy and down-to-earth common sense, no-nonsense practicality and motherly warmth, supportive but willing to fight her corner… She was, he realized with a shock of recognition, exactly like Emily.

 _Don't forget - I ended up in this business in a very similar fashion_ Emily's voice teased him in his head.

He heard his name being called and looked up to see the two subjects of his thoughts crossing the platz in front of the hotel, both beaming at him. He put the drawing aside and stood up, leaning with both hands on the railing and grinning down at them, his mentor and his "apprentice".

"Are you ready for dinner?" called Amanda. "Emily knows a lovely restaurant a few blocks over! She says we can't leave Austria without having wienerschnitzel and a Sachertorte!"

"Just what you need if you've been drinking on an empty stomach!" scolded Emily, but with a smile that said she wasn't serious.

"Sounds great! I'll be right down," he called back with a wave.

He turned and stepped back into the room, closing and locking the door, then picked up the sketch one last time, to put it somewhere safe. Amanda's playful eyes stared back at him from the page - he would swear she was on the verge of winking at him.

"Maybe everyone else is right and I'm wrong," he said. "So maybe we should see how it goes, hey, partner?"

Maybe it was the whiskey, maybe it was his heart, but he found himself nodding as he carefully closed the cover and put it back down on the desk. And then, with a lighter heart than he'd had for days, he headed out of the room and into the evening sunshine to join them.


End file.
